The GameCube (GCN/NGC) is a 32-bit sixth-generation console released by Nintendo on November 18, 2001 for $199. It has a IBM PowerPC Gekko CPU at 486 MHz with a ATI Flipper GPU. Nintendo, Namco, and Sega later designed the Triforce arcade board based on the GameCube, releasing titles for it the next year. The Triforce had a IBM PowerPC "Gekko" at 486 MHz with 24MB of RAM. The GPU was a Custom ATI/Nintendo "Flipper".

Nintendo released the successor, the Wii, in 2006 where it was revealed to have very similar (albeit more powerful) hardware and compatible interfaces. This meant that the Wii could handle GameCube games natively rather than use emulation. In contrast, when the Wii U was released in 2012 it contained a Wii mode that could use Wii remotes, but didn't have ports for GameCube controllers or supported GameCube games; the controller issue was later resolved with the Super Smash Bros. adapter, but this still didn't allow GameCube titles to be run.

is the emulator of choice for the GameCube and the first and only emulator for the Wii. It's updated on a near daily basis and has very good emulation of almost every game, though some games have known bugs on their issue trackers. It is the first emulator to boot the full game catalog of a sixth generation home console (Before any emulator for the same generation rivals like the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 and Xbox) and did so on September 2016. The developers maintain a wiki containing known bugs, tips, user-provided tests, and much more for every game. System requirements are high, more so for Wii games than GameCube.

an open-source Nintendo GameCube emulator which initially started development in 2004. It went into hiatus but is now active. With that in mind, it's not the most advanced but has interesting features and is able to boot and run some commercial games and demos...

To boot the GameCube's original BIOS, you need a dump from real hardware. Dolphin does not require it to load games but can be set to use it if desired. Current development builds have introduced a feature allowing users to load the BIOS directly from the interface in the Tools list without needing to load a game, as well as hybrid XFB. If you're on the stable release, use XFB Virtual and disable "Skip BIOS" in the GameCube options; you will have to load a GameCube title so that the startup animation begins and like on the original console, you hold the first controller's A button down and the system will send you into the main menu instead of booting the game. You can then switch to another game with Change Disc, or you can explore the BIOS.

Nintendo produced a special cable (DOL-011) that allowed connectivity with the Game Boy Advance in specific games. Up to four ports could be taken up for the game. While the third-generation Pokémon games are the prime example of it being used in conjunction with Colosseum, XD, or Pokémon Box, they aren't the only games to do so.

The GC/GBA Link feature is partially emulated; the Dolphin team collaborated with VBA-M developers to get the feature supported in the emulators. Since VBA-M has fallen out of favor, being replaced by mGBA, the Dolphin team has since been developing a way for other emulators to use the feature. Some GameCube games make use of the GBA's e-Reader; this is not supported at the moment.

To get it working, you need a recent copy of Dolphin and VBA-M, and DSP-LLE enabled.

This add-on plugged into the bottom of the GameCube and allowed it to play Game Boy / Game Boy Advance games on a standard television; it had provisions against Game Boy Advance Video cartridges by returning an error after booting them. The launcher even had support for the GBA-GCN link cable where the Game Boy Advance would serve as the controller. Some GBA games like Super Mario Advance 4 and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga took advantage of the add-on by adding rumble support. The hardware is essentially a peripheral containing Game Boy Advance hardware.

No emulator currently supports the Game Boy Player hardware and its features. The author of mGBA has expressed interest in getting the feature working with the Dolphin team.[citation needed]

This shouldn't be confused with netplay, which synchronizes emulation over an internet connection.

This was an add-on that allowed the console to use LAN technology over ethernet. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! used it to play on a local network with up to eight other GameCubes while Phantasy Star Online took it a step further to allow an internet connection for Sega's now-offline official game servers. Kirby Air Ride and 1080° Avalanche also support this adapter. This feature was unavailable on the Wii despite having 802.11 b/g connectivity built-in and an official USB LAN adaptor.

It's possible to hook up zero or more of each of these configurations on one networked game:

The Triforce is an arcade system board developed jointly by Namco, Sega, and Nintendo, with the first games appearing in 2002. The system hardware is based on the Nintendo GameCube with several differences, such as provisions for add-ons such as Sega's GD-ROM system and upgradeable RAM modules. Wii emulators can also play Triforce games.

Dolphin used to have Triforce support in the stable builds, which was quickly deprecated and a branch remained. This branch is no longer updated, but can still be used.[1] The developers plan to bring it back, but only if there is interest and work is done to clean up the code.

Compatibility is abysmal, and there are lots of unemulated features preventing the games from even booting without patches like both Mario Kart GP games. Check the Dolphin Wiki for more information. Various features including the NamCam camera, the save transfer functionality, and the multiple Triforce board networking, are simply not emulated.

For the games that do emulate with Dolphin Triforce (that is, the Mario Kart GP games and little else):

Under "Config/GameCube" (or more recently "Controllers"), "SP1" and "Port 1" need to be assigned to "AM-Baseboard".

"Enable Cheats" must be activated. Mario Kart GP1 and GP2 have patch codes that need to be added to their gameini file to fix the showstopping emulation bugs and to change the coins value to something else than 0, to play it at all.

The keys used are the same as the GameCube controls in Dolphin. The Z button supposedly emulates "Insert Coin", but it doesn't seem to work.